If You Spot This Sign At A European Restaurant, Rick Steves Advises You To Turn Away

Much like being caught in The Matrix, it is very hard to determine that you are stuck in a tourist trap if you don't know what to look for. When traveling abroad, it can be hard to navigate unfamiliar territory for things as simple as finding a good restaurant that serves quality local cuisine. Back home, you have your old standbys that you can depend on. In Morocco or Italy, you may have no idea. Travel expert Rick Steves has your back with a surefire tip for avoiding tourist traps and finding high-quality local restaurants in Europe. In his video on dining in Europe, Steves says, "If you're a smart eater, you don't go to the most crowded...high-rent square and look for a menu that says, in big English letters, no frozen food."

Not using frozen food doesn't sound like a bad thing, right? You want fresh, local ingredients. That's why the sign is such a red flag. A true, high-quality restaurant doesn't need to tell you in big, bold letters that it's not using frozen food. It'll just serve fresh ingredients you can taste. If you head into a restaurant like this "it's just going to be a crowd of tourists, because no local would ever eat there," Steves says. So be on the lookout for menus written in English and maybe a couple of other languages as well. That's a major clue that this restaurant is clearly catering to tourists.

Rick Steves knows a thing or two about finding good food in Europe. When it comes to enjoying the food that locals eat, Steves recommends you walk a few blocks away from the big, crowded tourist locations. Once the crowds have thinned out, he suggests looking for small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants. "I look for a small, hand-written, one-language menu," Steves explains. Menus written in the local language indicate that locals are the regular customers. The restaurant isn't trying to draw in tourists; it's an established place where the local population goes to eat. If it's busy, even better, because you know it's good and the locals are enjoying it.

Also, if the menu board outside or on the wall is handwritten, that means it changes. Those big, pre-printed menus are permanent fixtures. A handwritten menu means that the restaurant can bring in fresh ingredients regularly. They're going to change what they offer as specials weekly, maybe even daily. They're going to take advantage of fresh, seasonal ingredients. They don't need to advertise the absence of frozen food because it will be obvious from what they serve. Next time you're traveling, if you want an authentic culinary experience, stay away from those crowded places. If it serves food that you can get back home, it probably doesn't make anything authentically local — and certainly not as deliciously as the smaller, out-of-the-way restaurants will.